Hieroglyphics Keyboard
Type in Egyptian hieroglyphs. Press a key and see the sign a scribe would use for that sound.
Press any letter on your keyboard, or tap a key below.
Each key types the sign an Egyptian scribe would use for that sound. The sign's name, sound and story appear here as you type.
Writing a name? The name translator spells by sound (it knows SH, CH and soft C) and draws the cartouche around it.
Quick answer
A hieroglyphics keyboard turns each letter you type into the Egyptian hieroglyph for that sound: M is the owl π , N the water ripple π, R the mouth π. It uses the single-sound signs, often called the hieroglyphic alphabet, that scribes spelled foreign names with. Because Egyptian wrote no vowels, A, E/I and O/U borrow the vulture, the reed and the quail chick. The signs are Unicode text, so they can be copied and pasted.
Find your name on a sealed door
Brush the sand off a buried lintel and read your name in hieroglyphs, then meet the rest of the 25-sign alphabet through real Egyptian words. Three short sections, about ten minutes each.
Which hieroglyph does each key type?
All 26 letter keys, the sign each one types, and why. Several letters share a sign because the keys follow sounds, and Egyptian had fewer of them than English has letters.
| Key | Sign | Shows | Sound | Why this sign |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | πΏG1 | Vulture | κ£ | The vulture represents the Egyptian 'aleph' (κ£), a glottal stop that is the closest equivalent to our vowel 'a'. Egyptian had no true vowel signs. |
| b | πD58 | Foot | b | The foot sign represents 'b', a direct sound match between English and Egyptian. |
| c | π‘V31 | Basket with handle | k | Hard 'c' (as in 'cat') maps to the Egyptian 'k', shown as a basket with handle. |
| d | π§D46 | Hand | d | The hand sign represents 'd', a direct sound match. |
| e | πM17 | Reed | j | Egyptian had no vowels. The reed sign (j/y) is a semi-vowel used to approximate 'e' and 'i' sounds. |
| f | πI9 | Horned viper | f | The horned viper represents 'f', a direct sound match. |
| g | πΌW11 | Jar stand | g | The jar stand represents a hard 'g' sound. |
| h | πO4 | Reed shelter | h | The reed shelter represents 'h', a direct sound match. |
| i | πM17 | Reed | j | Egyptian had no vowels. The reed sign (j/y) is a semi-vowel used to approximate 'i' and 'e' sounds. |
| j | πI10 | Cobra | αΈ | The letter 'j' maps to the Egyptian 'αΈ' (a 'dj' sound), represented by the cobra. |
| k | π‘V31 | Basket with handle | k | The basket with handle represents 'k', a direct sound match. |
| l | πD21 | Mouth | r | Egyptian did not distinguish between 'l' and 'r'; they were the same sound. Both are written with the mouth sign (r). This is one of the most well-known features of the Egyptian language. |
| m | π G17 | Owl | m | The owl represents 'm', a direct sound match. The owl is one of the most recognisable hieroglyphs. |
| n | πN35 | Water ripple | n | The water ripple represents 'n', a direct sound match. |
| o | π ±G43 | Quail chick | w | Egyptian had no vowels. The quail chick (w) is a semi-vowel used to approximate rounded vowels 'o' and 'u'. |
| p | πͺQ3 | Stool | p | The stool/mat sign represents 'p', a direct sound match. |
| q | πN29 | Hill slope | q | The hill slope represents 'q', an emphatic 'k' sound in Egyptian. |
| r | πD21 | Mouth | r | The mouth sign represents 'r' (and 'l'; Egyptian made no distinction between the two). |
| s | π΄S29 | Folded cloth | s | The folded cloth represents 's', a direct sound match. |
| t | πX1 | Bread loaf | t | The bread loaf represents 't', a direct sound match. Bread was central to Egyptian life and offerings. |
| u | π ±G43 | Quail chick | w | Egyptian had no vowels. The quail chick (w) is a semi-vowel used to approximate 'u' and 'o' sounds. |
| v | πI9 | Horned viper | f | Egyptian had no 'v' sound. The closest equivalent is 'f', represented by the horned viper. |
| w | π ±G43 | Quail chick | w | The quail chick represents 'w', a direct sound match. |
| x | π‘π΄V31+S29 | Basket + Folded cloth | ks | The letter 'x' does not exist in Egyptian. It is decomposed into its component sounds: 'k' (basket) + 's' (folded cloth). |
| y | πM17 | Reed | j | The letter 'y' maps to the reed sign (j/y), which was a semi-vowel in Egyptian. |
| z | π΄S29 | Folded cloth | s | Egyptian did not distinguish 's' from 'z'. Both are written with the folded cloth sign. |
Codes are from Gardiner's sign list, the numbering Egyptologists use for every hieroglyph. The full chart of the 25 alphabet signs, with example words, is on the hieroglyphic alphabet page.
How to use the hieroglyphics keyboard
- Type. Press any letter key, or tap the keys on screen. Each press adds one sign to the wall. Space separates words and Backspace removes the last sign.
- Read the sign. The panel beside the wall names the sign you just typed, gives its sound and explains why it stands for that letter.
- Copy or save. Copy hieroglyphs puts the signs on your clipboard as text. Save as image downloads a picture, which is the safer choice for sharing because every phone can show it.
Is this how Egyptians really wrote?
For names, yes. When Egyptian scribes had to write a foreign name such as Ptolemy, Cleopatra or Alexander, they spelled it sound by sound with single-consonant signs, the same ones this keyboard types. That habit is what let Champollion decipher the script in 1822: he matched the signs in royal names to the Greek spellings.
Ordinary Egyptian words were different. A scribe had signs for two and three consonants at once, and ended most words with a silent picture that told the reader what kind of thing it was. So typing c-a-t here gives you the sounds π‘πΏπ, while the Egyptian word for cat, miw, was written πππ ±π : a milk jug for mi, a reed, a quail chick, and a sitting cat to finish.
Writing a name? Use the translator
The keyboard types exactly what you press: S then H gives two signs. The name translator listens for sounds instead. It writes SH as the single pool sign π, turns a soft C into S, drops doubled letters, and draws the royal cartouche around the result.
Learn to read what you just typed
Typing hieroglyphs is the easy half. Reading them back, on a museum label or a temple wall, takes about half an hour of practice with the 25 alphabet signs. The first lesson is free: you uncover your own name on a sealed door, then read real Egyptian words with the rest of the alphabet.
- Cartouche of the Day gives you a real pharaoh's name to decode each morning.
- Reading your first cartouche walks through Tutankhamun, Cleopatra and Ramesses II sign by sign.
- Five hieroglyphs you already know shows how much of the script you can recognise before you start.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a hieroglyphics keyboard?
Yes. The keyboard on this page types Egyptian hieroglyphs from an ordinary keyboard: press a letter and the sign for that sound appears, and on a phone you tap the keys on screen. Ancient Egypt had no keyboards, and no fixed alphabet either. Scribes chose from roughly 700 signs in common use, and this keyboard uses the single-sound signs they spelled names with.
Can I copy and paste hieroglyphs?
Yes. Egyptian hieroglyphs have been part of Unicode since 2009 (the block U+13000 to U+1342F, 1,071 signs), so they copy and paste like any other text. Press Copy hieroglyphs above and paste them into a message, document or social post. If they show up as empty boxes, the device has no hieroglyph font: save them as an image instead, or install the free Noto Sans Egyptian Hieroglyphs font.
Why do E, I and Y type the same hieroglyph?
Egyptian writing recorded consonants only, so there is no sign for E. The reed leaf π wrote a weak y-like sound, and it is the sign scribes used when a foreign name needed an i or e. In the same way O, U and W share the quail chick π ±, and A is the vulture πΏ.
Why do some letters share a sign, like L and R, or C and K?
The keys follow sounds, not English spelling. Classical Egyptian had no separate l and wrote it with the mouth π (r); later scribes used a lion π for L in Greek names such as Cleopatra. C and K are the same sound, written with the basket π‘; F and V share the horned viper π; S and Z share the folded cloth π΄. X has no sign of its own, so it types two: π‘π΄ (k + s).
Does this keyboard translate English into Egyptian?
No. It spells English letters with Egyptian sound signs, which is how scribes wrote foreign names. It does not translate meaning. Real Egyptian words were written with a mix of one-, two- and three-sound signs plus silent signs called determinatives: the word for house is π, not the letters h-o-u-s-e.
How do I type hieroglyphs on my own computer or phone?
The quickest way is to type them here and copy them. To type them anywhere, install a hieroglyph font (Noto Sans Egyptian Hieroglyphs is free; Windows includes Segoe UI Historic) and an input tool such as Keyman's hieroglyphic keyboard. Egyptologists who typeset whole inscriptions use JSesh, a free hieroglyphic editor.
How long does it take to learn the hieroglyphic alphabet?
About half an hour. The alphabet is 25 single-sound signs, and most people learn them in one sitting when each sign is taught as a picture with a sound: the owl is m, the water ripple is n, the mouth is r. The free first lesson on this site teaches all 25 through your own name and real Egyptian words.